At first, The Herta had managed to conceal herself perfectly. Not a single Memokeeper noticed her arrival.
But the moment she stepped into this place, she felt eyes watching her from the shadows.
The Herta sighed.
She had been discovered far too early.
That would make everything she planned to do afterward considerably more troublesome.
For now, she could only hope Lin Yi and Screwllum had managed to occupy enough of their attention elsewhere.
Strangely, even after discovering her presence, the other side made no attempt to come out and stop her.
That did surprise The Herta somewhat.
Unfortunately, she didn't have time to slowly play "games" with them.
It would be better to handle things directly.
"Emanator of Erudition, Madam Herta, whose name is renowned throughout countless worlds~ Greetings. We offer our regards on behalf of Saintess Lingyin."
Seven hooded Memokeepers appeared before her, their faces concealed beneath their hoods.
The Herta looked at them curiously.
"You know who I am, yet you still dare to block my path?"
"Or are you not actually here to stop me?"
She didn't know who these seven were.
But she could at least be certain that none of them were Emanators of Remembrance.
"Madam Herta, whatever it is you desire, it can be openly discussed. If the Garden of Recollection is capable of satisfying your request, we will naturally do everything within our power."
"Why resort to the actions of a common thief?"
The Herta gave a contemptuous smile.
"You didn't answer my question, and you're wasting my time with nonsense."
"You're trying to stall me, aren't you?"
"Unfortunately, you picked the wrong person to play your little tricks on."
The Fourth Mirror suddenly bounced out on its own.
Naturally, while mocking the Memokeepers, it didn't forget to praise the magnificent Madam Herta.
"I truly don't understand what goes through your heads. You actually dare play petty little mind games in front of the great and wise Madam Herta~?"
Without even looking back, The Herta spoke.
"I'll leave them to you, Fourth Mirror."
"Don't disappoint me."
The Fourth Mirror immediately responded in the most ingratiating voice imaginable.
"Please rest assured! I am a mirror that follows the great Madam Herta herself!"
"Dealing with a handful of insignificant nobodies like these will be effortless."
"I will absolutely never disappoint you, great Madam Herta!"
"Please continue ahead. Once I've dealt with these insignificant little pests, I'll immediately come find you."
"Mm."
The Herta continued walking.
"If you mess this up, I won't mind replacing you with another mirror."
"Great Madam Herta, please rest assured!"
The Fourth Mirror's voice grew increasingly frantic.
"I absolutely! Absolutely!! Absolutely will not mess this up!"
The Herta strode forward.
Just before leaving, she added,
"I know I'm great, but you don't have to say 'great Madam Herta' in every single sentence."
The Fourth Mirror lowered itself slightly.
"I understand, great Madam Herta. From now on, I will no longer include 'great Madam Herta' in every single sentence."
The Herta ignored it.
Or rather, by then, she was already far away.
The moment she disappeared, the Fourth Mirror's entire demeanor changed.
The sycophantic mirror instantly became unbearably arrogant.
Lord Mirror: "When Madam Herta is around, you may call me the Fourth Mirror. I won't hold it against you."
"But Madam Herta isn't here now."
"So tell me—"
"What should you call me?"
Who knew what kind of nonsense Zhuxing had been teaching the Fourth Mirror?
Apparently, it had grown crooked too.
The Herta continued onward.
She hadn't gone far before she once again sensed someone watching her.
And just like before, whoever it was remained hidden.
They simply watched.
The Herta was beginning to get irritated.
She raised her staff.
One mirror after another unfolded behind her, spreading outward into a spiraling formation.
Every mirror reflected The Herta's figure.
Then—
Light erupted from all of them simultaneously.
Countless beams converged into one and shot into the distance.
"Emanator of Erudition, Madam Herta, whose name is renowned throughout countless worlds~ Greetings. We offer our regards on behalf of Saintess Lingyin."
Seven hooded Memokeepers appeared before her.
Again.
The Herta froze.
Something was wrong.
Something about herself was wrong.
Something about her surroundings was wrong.
Her irritation instantly disappeared.
Instead, the corner of her lips curved upward.
"Interesting."
She called out,
"Fourth Mirror. Come out."
A familiar voice immediately answered.
"Great Madam Herta, would you like me to deal with these ignorant little pests?"
"Leave them to me. Madam Herta, you need only continue forward."
The Herta's smile deepened.
"Interesting."
"This Fourth Mirror is exactly like the real one."
"But being too perfect isn't necessarily a good thing."
Her voice became calm.
"Fourth Mirror."
"I order you to shatter yourself."
The voice stammered.
"G-G-Great Madam Herta!"
"Great Madam Herta!!!"
"May I ask what I've done to displease you?!"
"Please give me an opportunity to correct my mistake!"
"Please, considering how loyally I've served you, give me another chance!"
"You talk too much," The Herta replied.
"Shatter."
The Fourth Mirror visibly wilted.
"...Understood."
"If that is your will."
Then The Herta's expression shifted again.
"Still not over?"
She glanced down at herself.
"Looks like I'm fake too."
The Herta raised her staff once more.
This time—
She aimed the attack at herself.
Her body shattered.
The surrounding world shattered with her.
Everything broke apart like a mirror struck by a hammer.
As countless fragments collapsed around her, The Herta smiled.
"Cheap trick~"
And then she returned to the real world.
The seven Memokeepers lay sprawled on the ground.
There was no life left in their bodies.
They were clearly dead.
The Herta sighed.
"I had no intention of killing you."
"Why go this far?"
She didn't know the names of these seven Memokeepers.
She didn't know how they had accomplished what she'd just experienced either.
The Herta had sensed several different emotions being manipulated throughout the process, and she had actually wanted to ask them exactly how they'd done it.
But now they were dead.
Had that technique really demanded such an enormous price?
Whatever.
Dead was dead.
There was no point dwelling on it.
Her presence had already been discovered, and The Herta certainly didn't believe these people had neglected to report her intrusion to the outside world.
She needed to pick up the pace.
Grab what she came for and get out.
"Fourth Mirror."
"Did you record everything that just happened?"
"I recorded all of it, great Madam Herta!"
The Fourth Mirror bounced excitedly.
"I knew it! I knew you weren't really planning to replace me with another mirror!"
"As long as you recorded it."
The Herta continued walking.
"Talk less."
"Work more."
After dealing with those seven Memokeepers, the remainder of her journey went surprisingly smoothly.
Eventually, The Herta reached her destination.
"Finally."
"The Floating Light Sea, where the Garden of Recollection stores the memories of countless worlds."
"What a unique sight."
Before her floated a crystal sphere.
Within it lay the memories of countless worlds.
Looking through its crystalline surface revealed what appeared to be an entire universe.
Yet the star map inside was completely different from the universe outside.
Some celestial bodies that existed in reality were absent within it.
Meanwhile, celestial bodies that had already been destroyed in the outside universe still existed inside.
Whenever a civilization fell or a planet was destroyed in the real universe, the Garden of Recollection would dispatch Memokeepers to salvage the memories of that world and its civilization.
They would reconstruct the world as it had once existed—
Then place that reconstruction here.
For every piece lost by the universe outside, another piece was added within.
And when this place was finally filled completely...
That would mean the universe itself had fallen silent.
At the end of Destruction, new life would arrive.
Creation would begin anew.
—At least, that was what the Garden of Recollection claimed.
Still, the idea of new life emerging after the end of Destruction probably did have some truth to it.
This crystal sphere contained an almost unimaginable amount of information.
In a sense, it was essentially an enormous version of the Simulated Universe.
The functions were simply somewhat different.
The Herta was just about to step forward and claim her prize when she once again felt that familiar gaze watching her.
"Emanator of Erudition, Madam Herta, whose name is renowned throughout countless worlds~ Greetings. We offer our regards on behalf of Saintess Lingyin."
The Herta didn't even bother acknowledging them.
She walked directly toward the crystal sphere and placed one hand against its surface.
Only then did she spare the seven newly appeared Memokeepers a glance.
"I'm quite certain that all seven of you are as dead as dead can possibly be."
"And I'm equally certain that the world I'm currently standing in is real."
Her eyes narrowed with interest.
"So... are you deliberately trying to create a sense of confusion?"